


Ralph Dibny's Impromptu One Step Guide For Secrets In The Workplace

by MoonlightShines (Thatkillervibe)



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Cisco we hope you get well soon!, Confessions, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Oprah, reaction fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-13 22:55:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16481309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thatkillervibe/pseuds/MoonlightShines
Summary: Step 1: Print an anti-gossip contract from Oprah.com





	Ralph Dibny's Impromptu One Step Guide For Secrets In The Workplace

**Author's Note:**

> Quick note: This is a killervibe fic! Not Caitlin/Ralph, but the friendship is here so stick around if you're into that kinda thing. A sort of reaction fic to 5x02-4.

 

Caitlin groaned at her high school textbook and banged her head against the desk. Why did she think going through her childhood belongings would give her more clues? It only gave her terrible flashbacks of cramming sessions before her many many _many_ exams.

Caitlin couldn’t concentrate on her dad’s case. Couldn’t even sleep, so she stayed at Star Labs for a fruitless night of stress rather than productivity. And it was annoying, because she came to work on he dad’s case for a reason. To serve as a distraction from that other thing that had her upset in the first place.  
  
Ralph eventually showed up, making Caitlin belatedly realize it was well into the morning.  
  
“Woah...” He said when he saw her, hair frizzy and tangled and not at all wearing anything she would wear to work on a normal day. He leaned against the door frame. “What happened to you?”  
  
Caitlin considered Ralph. He didn’t know her the way the rest of the team did, and that was helpful a little bit, to be given a clean slate. He never knew Ronnie or Julian or Savitar or Zoom and it made their friendship lighter. Was it weird? To appreciate a friendship because it was a little shallow?  
  
It’s not like she could talk to Barry or Iris, not with the drama they’re going through with Nora and she’s definitely not going to start ringing up her _mom_.

At this point, Caitlin’s been keeping this quiet for so long she just wants to get it out. Ralph will work just fine.

  
“It’s Cisco,” she said finally.  
  
Ralph looked a little confused.  “He’s safe though, Iris told me he was taking the week off to lay low and be with his parents. What’s the problem?”  
  
Caitlin closed her book and sighed. “Can you swear to keep a secret?”  
  
Ralph grimaced. “You know I’m not the best at that.”  
  
“Ralph this one is serious. You want to know what’s wrong, then I need you to keep it to yourself.”  
  
Ralph swallowed audibly, then stretched his hand to wake up her laptop on sleep and typed something into the Google  search.  
  
“That does sound serious. Lemme find a contract on Oprah’s website to print and sign.”  
  
Caitlin gave him a small smile. “Thank you.”  
  
“So, what is it?” He asked as he collected the contract from the printer. He read it out loud and put down his signature, then handed Caitlin the pen. She signed neatly under his chicken scratch.  
  
Ralph squinted at it. “You’ve got the clearest penmanship. You sure you’re a doctor?”  
  
Caitlin huffed and ignored that, picking off some lint from her sleeve, “I’ve been hiding something. From Cisco. For a while, and I’m a little overwhelmed at the fact he almost died.”  
  
Ralph sat silently, listening.  
  
She looked up. “We almost lost him and I wasn’t there.”  
  
“Well, yeah, but Caitlin we were investigating your mom.”  
  
“ _Ralph_ ,” she began, and then gave up. Caitlin gave up. She dropped her hands helplessly to her sides and proceeded to say the words she’s been holding to her chest for the last three years, “I love him.”

Ralph stared. Caitlin waited.  
  
“Like... _Love_ love?”  
  
Caitlin rose her eyebrows, in a sort of _what do you think_ way.  
  
She watched as his brain processed, making a slew of facial expressions one after the other, until he seemed to settle on understanding.  
  
“ _Ohhhhhhhh_ ,” he said. “Yeah, I can see that now. Retrospectively.”  
  
Caitlin blinked rapidly, eyes trained on the floor. “You know why I can’t tell him, right?”  
  
“Yeah,” he said, and pulled up a chair next to her.  
  
It was hard when Cisco told her about his breakup, especially because he was so devastated. She wanted to be upset with him too, didn’t want him to be heartbroken, and yet...The hope that stirred inside her at Cisco being single again was inescapable. It made her angry, and she had nowhere to place that anger. This wasn’t like their past breakups, where Cisco and Caitlin had someone they could shit on for feeling miserable, someone they could blame like Zoom. It was mutual between Cisco and Cynthia, and he still loved her.  

Caitlin tried to be the supportive friend he needed, and brought Ralph along to be a buffer between them, because no matter how hard she tried she just wanted to wrap her arms around him and make him _hers._  
  
He was hurting. Cisco needed time and healing, physically too now and Caitlin just desperately wanted to love him.  
  
Ralph put an arm around her shoulder. And it was okay, it wasn’t Cisco’s hand rubbing up and down her back as she cried, the one she was longing for, but it met minimum requirements for now.  
  
“Girl, it’s going to work out fine.”  
  
Caitlin sniffled, and Ralph extended his arm 8 feet to grab the Kleenex box. “So what does Iris say about this?”

 

Caitlin tapped her index finger against the contract. “I don’t know. You’re the first person I’ve told since I figured it out in 2017.”

 

Ralph’s gum fell out of his mouth. “I’m the first—“

 

“ _Ralph_ ,” she clipped at his volume.

 

Ralph adjusted accordingly and lowered to an aggressive, mystified whisper, “ _I’m the first to know?_ ”

 

She nodded.

 

“Caitlin Snow, I’m honoured to be the chosen one,” he said and Caitlin sighed. There wasn’t much more she could expect out of Ralph Dibny. At least she made his day.

  
“Nora scares me a little, she keeps spoiling so much about the future, and I’m just so scared she’s going to slip up and confirm what I’m scared of. That we won’t be together. And—I don’t know if I can take that, Ralph. I don’t know if I can live my whole life only being Cisco’s friend. I think it’ll tear me up inside.”

 

“Well—You know where to find the 27 step guide to get over the love of your life.”

 

Caitlin gave a half laugh, half hiccuped sob. “You never say the right thing,” she complained, burying her face into her pile of tissues.

 

“Rather it be me than Sherl _oque_ ,” Ralph retorted, mimicking his accent.

 

Caitlin snorted, rubbing at her irritated eyes. There was no way she was going to tell him he may have had a point there.

 

“I didn’t get any sleep. Tell Barry I’m going to take a off day. Maybe I’ll go over to Cisco’s parents and make a pie or something. I don’t think I’ll feel any better with him gone.”

 

Ralph nodded, “You do that. And I’ll put my Wikipedia skills to use on working with your Dad case.”

 

Caitlin got up from her seat. Even though her legs felt like lead, she couldn’t deny the huge relief to finally get her feelings out in the open. She already felt a little more like she could breathe.

  
She reached over and gave him a hug, taking him by surprise.  “Thank you, Ralph.”

 

Ralph winked.  “Anytime.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me @thatkillervibe on tumblr! Happy Halloween!


End file.
